Endo scores $90M government contract and will spend another $30M to expand fill-finish operations

Endo will have $120 million to expand its fill-finish manufacturing operations in Michigan as part of a deal it inked with the federal government to produce critical medicines.

Under the agreement, the U.S. government will fund about $90 million of the total cost of the expansion at the Rochester, Michigan, facility, which will be capable of processing liquid or lyophilized products that require a biosafety level 2 containment, the Dublin-based pharma said.

The plan also includes expanded product inspection and packaging capacity along with exclusive fill-finish manufacturing services for the government.

The contract falls under the Defense Production Act, which is focused on product supply chain issues and strengthening the manufacture of domestic essential medicines.

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News of the contract may be just what the company needs to bolster its business, as last year it was in the midst of a cost-cutting program. The pharma faced several years of challenges that ranged from opioid litigation, the FDA pulling Endo’s pain med Opana ER from the market and a failed attempt in 2019 to buy sterile injectables company Somerset Therapeutics for $190 million.

Last November, the company announced it would eliminate 560 jobs by the first half of 2023 to save between $85 million and $95 million a year. Additionally, Endo said it would exit manufacturing facilities in California and New York and sell off an active pharmaceutical ingredient site in India.